Both countries came into the game desperately in need of a win, Latvia the more so as it was the team’s last chance to avoid the relegation round. Thanks to a great effort from Romanovskis, who stopped 42 of 45 shots in the game, the Latvians came into the third period tied 1-1 with the Swiss.

Early in the third an incoming penalty call on Latvia put an extra attacker on the ice, and the Swiss went back up by a goal when Robin Fuchs took the puck towards the net and used teammate Nathan Marcon as a screen, firing the puck between Marcon’s legs, past Romanovskis and into the back of the net for the 2-1 lead.

However the plucky Latvians bounced right back, knotting the game up again when Martins Dzierkals won control of the puck in the Swiss zone and passed it to Rudolfs Balcers coming down the high slot. Balcers beat Swiss goalie Joren van Pottelberghe with a shot to the blocker side, giving the Latvians, who so far had been outshot by the Swiss and taken several penalties in the game, a chance at a big upset with lots of time left in the third.

Nothing could be solved in regulation thanks in large part to Romanovskis’ heroic efforts in net for the Latvians, so the teams went to overtime. There Swiss forward Auguste Impose drew a hooking penalty against Latvia, the team’s tenth of the game.

Seconds after the Latvians killed off the penalty, the puck came to Swiss star forward Malgin, who fired a cannon shot into the top left corner to give Switzerland its first win of the tournament.